National Night Out events draw crowds throughout the suburbs

Communities throughout the suburbs hosted National Night Out events Tuesday.

The community-building campaign promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. It’s traditionally held on the first Tuesday in August.

Many of the events featured festival staples such as mascot visits, food and drink vendors, games and bounce attractions, dunk tanks, face painting and DJs. There were also emergency vehicle displays along with drone and K-9 demonstrations.

More unusual highlights around the suburbs included a Benjamin Franklin re-enactor in Addison, a LifeNet helicopter landing in Lake in the Hills and kids playing softball against police officers in Bloomingdale.

Events scheduled in Rolling Meadows featured the Canines in the Clouds Dog Show while Huntley was set to host a post-event concert by Hillbilly Rockstarz.

Additional National Night Out events are planned throughout the week, including in Palatine on Wednesday and in Barrington, Cary, Crystal Lake, Elmhurst and Grayslake on Thursday. South Elgin will host a back-to-school night out on Friday.